Horrifying experience with bubble app - please share!

[Kateeeeeeee]

The founder of this app is a nightmare and does everything to stop me from sharing my experience, he keeps taking my reviews off Trustpilot so I am sharing this here...

I used to be a babysitter on bubble but had a horrifying experience with their team. I was not happy with the very high fees they are charging us sitters, as I realised that we essentially pay a lot more than parents do. This is not fair to us.

I contacted the team to tell them about it and suggested a change, however the owner itself came back to me and you wouldn't believe it: He only met me with aggression in his email! I was absolutely shocked to be spoken to in this way from the owner. It is like he does not care about its members at all. He wrote very aggressive things, essentially saying that his app is the best and if I don't like it, I can go somewhere else. Wow.

Then the worst: I found out that I got THROWN off the platform. I emailed the team again asking why, even though it was obvious. I asked if we get thrown off the platform for reaching out to share our feedback? I never received a reply…

Furthermore, I left a one star review on Trustpilot, but was told by Trustpilot itself that the founder of bubble asked to take off my review because apparently it’s “not genuine”. I am now doubting in the credibility of Trustpilot themselves. That’s why I am now here sharing my experience because I deserve to have my voice heard.

I urge you - PLEASE don't support this terrible app - you can find much better paid work elsewhere. I know this too well since I have been working as a nanny for over 12 years. It's really not good to be supporting a business that treats members this way, and only we have the power to stop this.

I assume he's not having any trouble finding people who don't object to the fee or he'd take a different approach. I can understand why you're annoyed, actually, if he just cut you off the platform, but I also question whether "I think this is too expensive" is particularly valuable or meaningful feedback in itself.

I think people are a bit exasperated because your thread title suggested some sort of safeguarding or fraud issue with the platform.

I feel like you miss the point… this is about how we are being replied to for sharing our feedback. It’s everyone’s right to share our thoughts and feedback for a service we received in a kind way. Being spoken to aggressively in response to that is not ok. Especially not by the founder who should care about their image! The way he treated me says a huge amount about how little he cares about the wellbeing of their members. They are just money to him. Of course business is about money, but do you really support rudeness and aggression towards customers? Throwing someone off the platform for sharing their thoughts is a big form of aggression. That should have only been done if someone violated their rights or did something really terrible, not because the founder just didn’t like hearing negative feedback.
Would you not agree that the right response from him would have been to simply say thank you for the feedback and finish there?

I don't support it, but I wouldn't call it horrifying either. Ultimately a person who runs their business like that will either make it work because they're offering something unique, or struggle because they're driving users away.

I don't understand ... why do you have an issue with the OP?

Sadly it’s not that simple. Many nannies are on the app only because they desperately need some money. Many of them would be off it if they could. Some of them are barely surviving, partly because of the app’s terrible system. The more parents use the app, the less jobs will be at other, fairer platforms and so this problem will get worse. The founder prefers to ignore this problem and is just happily enjoying his 25% that he takes away from them.
I am so glad to be away from this for good but I feel very sorry for all the nannies on this app.

I'd agree with you OP, although I think you might be being a but hyperbolic calling it 'horrifying'. Depends on exactly how aggressive he was in his email though.

I dunno why everyone is being so sceptical of you OP. It sounds like the app owner is a rude bully who can't take criticism.

I am sorry for the unpleasant replies OP. I’d be wary of bosses that behave that way towards their sitters, there was no need for it, especially throwing you off the platform for simply raising a concern. Then you get called ‘hysterical’.

It’s difficult to judge someone for using a word to describe an experience. To me it was horrifying, to you it may not. But you also haven’t experienced what I did, so it’s further difficult to judge like that. Everyone perceives things differently and I think it’s important to acknowledge that. As a kind person, I was personally hurt by being spoken to aggressively and being thrown off the platform (which is a very aggressive move), only for sharing my honest feedback. It’s not like I did something harmful to anyone, I never even used rude words… it’s clearly very extreme and unreasonable for them to have treated me this way, and I am simply trying to spread awareness.

25% for first one

6% or 3.5% thereafter

because op conveniently neglected to mention

What OP is saying is that she's not been asked to babysit by the same parents again and so she never gets the benefit of the lower rate.

I wouldn't call that aggressive personally, just opinionated. I would look at other agencies/apps or advertise yourself some other way.

Yup

but OP chose not to clarify the massive cut in rate from the second time babysitting onwards

But clearly these parents never wish to experience the op again hence she never enjoys the 3.5 or 6% rate

Your valuable feedback was to ask them to take less commission and pay you more?
But that's not their business model 🤔

AFAIK Bubble raised the percentage of the first sit with a family higher, because loads of people were using the app to find a reliable, vetted sitter, and then immediately agreeing with them to work directly for them next time without using the app, so the app makes very little money as people stop using it after a few sits. I can see both sides really; but I don’t think ‘you’re taking too much commission’ is valid feedback and tbh depending on how you’d phrased it I can see why it would raise questions. Ultimately, you were making it clear you were unhappy with the terms and unhappy sitters will likely talk to parents/try and negotiate more work off the app so I can see where he’s coming from. I also think Trustpilot isnt the right place to raise your complaint.

Thanks so much for your support. Glad to see a reply from someone who isn’t rude and actually understands the point!

Really sad that you enjoy fighting over this with me.
It is not that simple. If you read more opinions by other people you would realise that families usually don’t use the app for repeat sits. MOST nannies report that they usually are only booked for one sit. Many families just use it for very occasional ad hoc sits, which isn’t sustainable for a professional nanny who lives off her income. Therefore it’s rare to get those repeat bookings.
Please reflect on your intense need to be so terribly rude to a stranger who you know nothing about, by assuming that I never get repeat bookings because nobody enjoys my care. Your assumptions unfortunately say way more about you than about me ;)

So kind of you to say this. Thank you so much. I am well aware of bosses behaving like this, I have heard many many stories of unfortunate nannies coming across them and I agree, it’s not worth even working for them, I spot these usually at the interview stage and stay away from them. I feel sorry for their children to be honest, if they treat them with just as much disrespect and zero understanding towards their feelings, this will affect their development in a negative way. Yet this is so common. Makes me really sad.

Yeah, it sounds like a money spinner, which so many things are.

But your reaction seems disproportionate. You signed up to something, presumably reading the t&C's. You then found it wasn't working in your favour, so told them (not sure what you expected them to do, they weren't going to change it...your feedback wasn't telling them anything they didn't know!) and then the owner kicked you off.

Unless you haven't explained the worst yet, his responses sound bullish and OTT, but not aggressive in the truest sense. You then couldn't use the app that you felt was exploitative again...big whoop?

And this is horrifying? Of all the things that are horrifying, this experience wouldn't even register. From the title I assumed you were a parent who had had an awful experience with a sitter.

Op put the wine down.

You need to get over this and move on with your life OP.

This is a non issue and people can make their own decisions on the platform if they choose to use it.

OP, when you speak on a parenting forum of something being 'horrifying' in relation to a childcare app, people assume you mean something of the magnitude of a major safeguarding problem.

You are describing a difference of opinion with the owner of the app, who has suggested that if you don't like the business model (to which you signed up) you should go somewhere else.

This may explain why some of the responses are more direct than you would have wished.

What about your feedback made you think it would be valuable to them op?

Not every random thought spilling out of a service-users brain is valuable to the business owner. Presumably they've got a pretty solid app/service that's bringing them in a decent income - they're hardly going to change it because someone moans at them about the charges.

Either use the app or don't.
Its a business and they can charge what they want and people can choose whether to use it or not.
You don't sound like an ideal babysitter to be honest if you are as over the top and dramatic about things.

The Op shuffled off and chose not to return when the actual fee structure was revealed.

25% for the FIRST Babysitting job with a family
3.5% or 6% for all job with family thereafter

So…. A somewhat sketchy OP who hasn’t been called back to babysit by families because no doubt they got a sense of that!